The present invention relates to viewing apparatus such as virtual reality apparatus, and various methods therefor.
Modern electronic devices as well as worldwide connectivity via the Internet have revolutionized many facets of daily life. Communications, commerce, information movement and management have all be dramatically modified with devices such as smartphones and wireless Internet connectivity. One area that will be greatly affected by the convergence of advanced handheld electronic device and Internet connectivity is in the realm of medicine.
Much of modern medicine is practiced in dedicated medical facilities such as hospitals and clinics. The requirement for both medical experts such as doctors and nurses as well as equipment that can often run into the millions of dollars generally leaves medical treatment at dedicated medical facilities. The challenges of the current arrangement are many: the requirement for travel to a hospital or the like; the general requirement to wait a long time for an appointment as there are too many patients relative to the number of medical professionals; an inability to continue a treatment seriously at home due to the lack of the expensive, sophisticated equipment; and, expense—hospital and similar treatments cost a great deal, whether the patient and/or his/her insurance picks of the tab for various treatments. Bills reaching tens of thousands of dollars for simple surgeries are not uncommon.
While all medical treatments are not necessarily amenable to off-site performance, the proper use of advanced electronic devices such as tablets and smartphones, combined with Internet communication with medical professionals offers the possibility of patients performing many activities away from a formal hospital or clinical setting. Off-the-shelf devices combined with dedicated software and, where required, hardware will allow for many patients to perform exercises at home or at say a nursing home, while a nurse or doctor enjoys real-time access to performance data. The possibility of a medical professional modifying a protocol from afar means that many of the bottlenecks present at hospitals and clinics could be removed.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/477,317 to Luberski and Sumango teaches a system and method for use in moderating symptoms associated with vestibular disorders. The patient stands atop a balance platform and balances or performs other exercises on the platform. The exercises require the patient to work against the instability of an inflatable bladder positioned beneath the balance platform. Training difficult may be increased or decreased by changing the pressure of the inflatable bladder. Increased pressure makes the bladder firm, which is easier to balance upon and decreased pressure softens the bladder, making it more difficult to balance upon. Over time, the repeated performance of the exercise sessions improves the impairment the patient is experiencing due to the symptoms of the vestibular disorder.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/909,084 to Stewart and Wallace describes standardized guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system abnormalities such as concussions, head trauma, memory loss, confusion, or other cognitive dysfunction. An initial assessment is made of the person for loss of consciousness, spinal cord injury, or a secondary injury. The person is asked to perform a plurality of mental and physical exercises. A dynamic visual acuity test is also taken. These tests can be performed on the sideline of an athletic playing field to determine whether or not it is advisable for an athlete to return to play. Next, machine-based hearing, dynamic-vision, and balance tests are administered to the patient. The results of these machine-based tests are transmitted electronically to an online database and evaluated by a physician at an off-site location, who prescribes a treatment regimen designed to improve the patient's vestibular functioning.
International Patent Application No. PCT/US2009/040486 to Santina, et al. describes systems and methods for testing vestibular and oculomotor function. One aspect of the invention provides a vestibular and oculomotor function testing device including a track supported by a plurality of bearings, an engine configured to selectively displace the track, and a head coupling component coupled to the track. The head coupling component is configured to convey a movement generated by the engine to a subject's head in one or more axes.
Methods and apparatuses for rehabilitation, particularly for balance and vestibular disorders include BNAVE (Medical Virtual Reality Center University of Pittsburgh) and Balance Quest (Micromedical Technologies), although these systems are unable to perform real-time fusion of visual and vestibular interaction and updating of the displayed image. Equitest (Neurocom, a division of Natus) provides only limited training capabilities. MedFit (Korebalance) provides diagnostic and rehabilitation opportunities and the BRU (Medicaa, Uruguay) provides rehabilitation capabilities, although it is not fit for home use, it is not a portable device and does not incorporate real 3D stimulation nor specific adaptive eye training. Current classic methods for vestibular rehabilitation do not incorporate any technology. In all mentioned cases, there is no way to track home activities and customize the rehabilitation upon home use results.
Balance analysis tools include devices that measure the posture subjected to different sorts of visual, vestibular and proprioceptive stimulation and gait analysis tools by means of accelerometers or cameras that measure different gait parameters while walking on the floor, mattress or treadmill. Examples of posture analysis include Balance Quest (Micromedical Technologies), Balance Manager (Neurocom, a division of Natus) with the Sensory Organization Test (SOT), MedFit (Korebalance), BRU (Medicaa, Uruguay). Gait analysis examples include SensoGo (SensoGo, Israel) and Opal (APDM) that use accelerometer data, while other techniques include cameras recording the body movements, pressure sensing mattresses and gaming hardware such as Kinect (Microsoft). Pressure systems include Walkway (Tekscan) that senses feet pressure.
There is an increase in wellness devices as well that track body movements such as Moov (Mushroom Labs) and Up (Jawbone) which are generally realized as wrist bands.
US Patent Publication Nos. 2006/0206175 and 2009/0240172 disclose methods and apparatus for enabling selective stimulation of oculomotor reflexes involved in retinal image stability.
These advances notwithstanding, the present inventors have recognized a need for improved methods and apparatus for treating brain-related impairments such as vestibular impairments.